Alarm bells sounded for cheetahs - only 7100 remain in the wilds of Africa

The population of cheetahs is on the decline and, like many other wildlife species in Africa, conservationists have sounded alarm bells for the cheetah - it is the fastest animal on land. It seems there are an estimated 7,100 of them that remain in the wild across Africa and in a small area of Iran.
Human encroachment has pushed the wide-ranging predator out of 91 percent of its historic habitat. Therefore, the animal should be defined as "endangered" instead of the less serious "vulnerable".
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 Decmber 2016.

The decline in population of the cheetah can be attributed to a number of factors like habitat loss, attacks from villagers, loss of antelope and other prey that are killed by people for their meat, an illegal trade in cheetah cubs, the trafficking of cheetah skins and the threat of getting hit by speeding vehicles.
More than half of the world's cheetahs live in southern Africa, including in Namibia and Botswana. These have relatively less human populations. These animals have been virtually wiped out in Asia, except of fewer than 50 in Iran. The cheetah population in Zimbabwe has gone down from an estimated 1,500 in 1999 to between 150 and 170 in 2013-2015 - this is based on a survey conducted between 2013 and 2015.


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India seal Zimbabwe series with a 8-wicket win in 2nd ODI

It was an emphatic 8 wicket win for Dhoni's boys in the 2nd ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare. Here also, India won the toss and invited the home team to bat. But, Zimbabwe was all out for 126 runs in the 35th over. The victory margin was 8 wickets. In the 1st ODI, it was by nine wickets.
This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 14 June 2016.

Batting first, Zimbabwe were in a good position at 106 for 3 in the 26th over but, they collapsed in a heap for 126 runs within 35 overs. It was legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal who was instrumental in the downfall. He made his debut and claimed two wickets in successive balls. First he got Sikandar Raza (16), who was caught on the boundary, and then trapped Elton Chigumbura LBW (duck). In his next over, Chahal managed to bag Vusi Sibanda, the leading scorer on 53. Going for a big sweep he and only edged it. Zimbabwe just could not recover and lost its last six wickets for only 20 runs.
In reply, Ambati Rayudu top scored with an unbeaten 41 from 44 balls as India cruised to 129 for two in 26.5 overs. The third and last ODI of the series is on Wednesday.


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India gifts away 2nd T20 to Zimbabwe in Harare – lose by 10 runs

#INDvsZIM #AjinkyaRahane #Zimbabwe #stuartbinny India, true to tradition, played some forgettable cricket and paid the price for complacency like their seniors. The team of Ajinkya Rahane gifted away the 2nd T20 played at Harare to Zimbabwe – India lost by 10 runs. This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 20 July 2015.

Zimbabwe won the toss, elected to bat and put up 145 runs which was probably not enough – but, they defended it admirably and won the match defeating India by 10 runs. Zimbabwe opener Chamu Chibhabha was responsible to ensure that Zimbabwe put up a respectable total with a superb 51-ball 67.
In their chase of 146 runs for a win, India were looking down the barrel at 69 for five in nine overs. It was then that Stuart Binny (24) and debutant Sanju Samson (19) played cameo innings, but it was ultimately Zimbabwe’s day at the Harare Sports Club.
There were three runouts in the Indian side – Ajinkya Rahane (4), Kedar Jadhav (5) and Bhubaneshwar Kumar (9). However, there was not a single runout in the home side. This reveals that Indians are an impatient lot and do not hesitate to throw their wickets away.
Graeme Cremer wreaked havoc with his three wickets for 18 runs in his four overs, while other wickets were shared by SC Williams (1/31), Taurai Muzarabani (1/23) and Chris Mpofu (1/26).
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India wins 1st T20 in Harare – new, promising faces of Indian cricket emerge

#INDvsZIM #AxarPatel #AjinkyaRahane #Zimbabwe #HarbhajanSingh After the brilliant whitewash in ODI meted out to Zimbabwe at Harare, India has shown its mettle in T20 as well by beating the hosts by 54 runs as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 18 July 2015.

This Zimbabwe series has thrown up many exciting new talents and the emergence of such players mean a lot for India where the players are gradually aging and there is a need to inject new fresh blood.
In this T20 match, India won the toss, opted to bat first and put up an impressive score of 178 for 5 and, with an asking rate of around 9 runs per over from the word go, it was a tough ask for Zimbabwe.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane (33), Murali Vijay (34) and Robin Uthappa (39 not out) helped the visiting side to post 178 for 5 after electing to bat and the Zimbabweans conceded 25 runs as extras to boost the Indian total.
Young 21-year-old Axar Patel with 3 for 17 was the pick of the bowlers – this left-arm spinner was one of five Indians who made T20 International debut today. Experienced Harbhajan Singh with 2 for 39 gave him able support and Zimbabwe batting order slumped to 124/7 while chasing the target and India the match.
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And, they did it with aplomb – coming in with India reeling at 82 for 4 in the 22nd over, they added 144 runs for the 5th wicket to finally put up a score of 276 which, at one point of time, appeared a distant dream. The inconsistency among the top order batsmen is a matter of worry for India - it is like a plague and India must get over this.
This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 15 July 2015.

Kedar Jadhav scored a maiden century (105 not out) while Manish Pandey chipped in with 71 very valuable runs.
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India outplay Zimbabwe in 2nd ODI in Harare and seal series

#INDvsZIM #AjinkyaRahane #Zimbabwe #BhuvaneshwarKumar It was an all-round performance of confidence that helped India win the 2nd ODI at Harare and beat the home team to seal the series 2-0 as reported in dnaindia.com dated 11 July 2015.
Once again Zimbabwe won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat but, this time, the openers played to their potentials and put on a century partnership before being separated. Murali Vijay put on 72 runs while skipper Ajinkya Rahane added 63 runs. The Indians put up a score of 271 for 8 in the allotted 50 overs.

In reply, Zimbabwe could score 209 in 49 overs and India won the match.
The Indian bowlers maintained their stranglehold on the opposition throughout and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 33 in 10 overs. Others chipped in with their contributions. Dhawal Kulkarni (1/39 in 9 overs) provided initial breakthroughs while spinners Harbhajan Singh (1/29 in 10 overs) and Axar Patel (1/40 in 10 overs) succeeded in keeping the home team a tight leash.
For Zimbabwe, Chamu Chibhabha (72, 100 balls) was the top-scorer.
(Image source wikimediacommons.org)

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India must win ODI series 3-0 against Zimbabwe to retain 2nd position in ICC ranking

India begins their ODI series against Zimbabwe on Friday 10 July and they must win all the series 3-0 in order to remain at the No 2 position in the ICC ODI ranking. All the ODIs and T20 matches would be played at Harare. This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 8 July 2015.

India has a new captain in Ajinkya Rahane for the series with some new players it would be up to him to ensure that India maintains its position in world ranking.
India is now the No 2 with a total of 115 points while Zimbabwe, the hosts, are at No 11 with 44 points. India is obviously the favorites but, cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties and no one can forecast the result until the last ball is bowled.
A 2-1 win for India means they will drop two points but still maintain their second spot. However, a 1-2 loss will mean India will have to surrender four points and go down to fourth.
Against this, a 3-0 win for Zimbabwe will help them jump to 52 points. Thereby, they will be able to overtake Ireland and move to the 10th spot, while India will slip down to the fifth spot with 109.
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Indian ODI team gets Ajinkya Rahane as new captain for Zimbabwe tour

#AjinkyaRahane #Zimbabwe #Harare #harbhajansingh #INDvsZIM There was a certain amount of uncertainty regarding the Zimbabwe tour to play ODI and T20 and matters appear to have been resolved. The BCCI has agreed to rest a whole lot of players because of ‘too much cricket’ and tiredness and fatigue creeping in which was affecting the performance of key players.
The BCCI has, therefore, given the captaincy to Ajinkya Rahane who will be taking a new crop of players to Zimbabwe to play three ODIs and two T20 matches beginning July 10 in Harare. Ajinkya Rahane is a consistent batsman and, in the just concluded tour of Bangladesh, he got a chance to pay in only one ODI.
This has been reported in oneindia.com dated 29 June 2015.

The new team will see the return of Harbhajan Singh to the shorter formats of the game and new players will be seen in the form of some who have proved their worth in the IPL. They are Murali Vijay, Manoj Tewari, Robin Uthappa, Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma, and uncapped Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey and paceman Sandeep Sharma.
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(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)
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Robert Mugabe relishes elephant meat on his 91st birthday

#RobertMugabe #Zimbabwe #TendaiMusasa #VictoriaFalls President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe celebrated his 91st birthday in a luxury hotel in the Victoria Falls resort by releasing 91 balloons and gorging himself on elephant meat as reported in news.sky.com dated 28 February 2015.
As per reports, thousands of people have flocked to the lavish birthday party and two young elephants had been slaughtered for the feast which was held on the hotel golf course, with white marquees housing guests.
The first elephant, it seems, was shot, cut up and passed to the organizers of the party while the second was reportedly to be given to members of the community.
The animals had been donated by game farmer Tendai Musasa – apart from the pair of elephants, he had also given a lion and a crocodile to be stuffed, and a herd of impala. Moreover, two members of the president's government offered 40 cows for slaughter for the bash.
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Mugabe is the longest-serving leader of Africa and he is respect by many on the continent after he led Zimbabwe to independence. But, he is subject to travel bans in the European Union and also in the United States.